A writing sample from my new ebook The Mission is a Pop Band – Varied Shorts by Nick Armbrister Diseased Minds in Power

A writing sample from my new ebook The Mission is a Pop Band – Varied Shorts by Nick Armbrister Diseased Minds in Power One key characteristic for being was in power was a lust to rule, as well as being ruthless and a megalomaniac and also, being fucked in the head. There are many people like this in the world, we all know a few. But most remain bitter and twisted and can only influence those around them. You need power and the willingness to use it, to actually impose your will on the masses. Thus are only a few become dictators who are real fucking psychos. The thousands of wannabes are just that. Some dictators work their way up through the ranks, starting off in the army as a private soldier, soon through bullying and ability, reaching corporal. And thus starts their rise to power. It may take decades but they persevere and plan and consolidate and eliminate till one fine sunny day, they are there, at the helm of the nation. Ruling the masses with their iron fist and by varied tools: a corrupt police force, a judicial system with rigged trials, a network of spies and informers, and often sign death warrants themselves, like Stalin did. The dictators do not remain idle. They invade other countries, instigate propaganda campaigns, twist minds with fake news, start drug wars, and many more fun activities. If their military is loyal, strong and well equipped, the dictator is a regional and often, international threat. Saddam Hussein was a regional threat attacking Iran and later Kuwait. Hitler was an international threat. All had insane psychotic tendencies and were fucked in the head. Some are good military tacticians and win a swathe of victories. Little can remove them from power. Others are terrible tacticians and serve their enemies better by staying in power. In the 21st Century the war is online. Writers and bloggers who vent their opposition and views to the ruling regime are arrested and locked up, often for years. This occurs in Red China, Neo Soviet Russia, in Vietnam, in most Middle East oil nations and elsewhere. The laws are ambiguous and opaque and favour the ruler, who is either alone or has a supporting party eg the Communists or National Socialists or some other regime. Dictators can be in power from months to decades. Some are responsible for the deaths of millions; Pol Pot is an example, having butchered over a million intellectuals and enemies. How can a nation develop when this happens? It cannot. Death is death and many trumped up reasons are used by the dictator to bump off their enemies. Often, they kill close friends and allies who have outlived their usefulness. Ruling regimes can be religious like varied Muslim ones eg Syria’s Assad, who was almost defeated in a vicious civil war that lasted almost a decade and killed half a million plus. Only when Neo Soviet dictator Putin stepped in did Assad’s battlefield defeats cease and reverse. A country anywhere in the world can be run by a dictator. It can be a Banana Republic in South America, an Eastern Europe country or one in South East Asia. Some dictators are proxies put in place and kept in power by a bigger country. The varied Eastern Europe Cold War nations were a barrier protecting Communist Russia from the European military adventure, the West and NATO. The dictator can actually be voted into power by his populate then over time change the laws and limit personal freedoms. Erdogan of Turkey is a modern example of this. When opposition rose up to challenge him and take power, they hesitated in assassinating him. Erdogan’s presidential jet plane, with him aboard, was locked up on an F-16 fighter jets radar. The pilot never launched the missile. Tens of thousands were jailed in the ensuing political battle and dictator Erdogan emerged victorious. Some Western nations flock to do business with dictators. Gaddafi of Libya was courted Western European nations who sold him cutting edge weapons and bought his oil. On the other side, Russia propped up a range of plastic leaders during the 20th Century and beyond. In South America Venezuelan leaders Chavez and then Maduro are supported both by Communist China and Neo Soviet Russia. Red China has been Communist since the first half of the 20th Century. Varied dictators ruled them after they were victorious in the Civil War when the Nationalists were forced to flee to Taiwan, in one of the worst events of that century. The reds ruled ruthlessly and for decades the West cut off Red China. But Nixon changed that and established diplomatic relations. In the modern era the Communists are ruled by Xi. He cracked down on rampant corruption and jailed or executed many powerful fellow communist officials. This cemented his dictatorial power as did establishing his position to govern for life. He also challenged both the West and America and regional nations. His building of illegal South China Sea bases and outfitting them with weapons plus the establishment of Air Defence and also similar sailing identification zones created further tension. This can only result in one thing, war. Dictators are like arseholes. Everybody has one and everybody can act like one. There are varied ways to stop an arsehole or dictator. From something dramatic like car bomb to an armed coup or a poisoned meal; the result is the same. Assassinate your dictator if you can and win your freedom. Make sure you do not fail and that you can trust your allies. Dictators come in all political shapes and sizes. They touch everybody’s lives, mostly in the worst possible way. Let us hope it isn’t you or me. We want to live freely, be able to enjoy free speech and freedom of travel, have the ability to do what we want, when we want. Keep free and never let the flame of freedom be extinguished. Remember those who died to be free. Salute!